New Orleans terror attack victims include 3 with New York-area ties

At least three people with New York-area connections were among the victims of the suspected terror attack in New Orleans on New Year’s, family members and others confirmed throughout the day on Thursday.

Matthew Tenedorio, 27, was born and raised in Mineola, N.Y., his family told News 12 Long Island. Tiger Bech, a 27-year-old former Princeton University football star from Lafayette, La., worked at Seaport Global in New York City as a junior bonds trader in cybersecurity, CBS News reported. Billy DiMaio, 25, graduated from high school in New Jersey and was a New York-based account executive for media company Audacy.

While authorities on Thursday had not yet confirmed the names of the 14 victims killed in the attack on revelers, news was filtering out from family members and friends.

New Orleans Coroner Dr. Dwight McKenna said the victims’ names would be released once next of kin had been notified and autopsies were complete, which he said would take “several days.”

Meanwhile, friends, families and associates began sharing memories of the fallen. An aspiring nurse, a single mother, and several university students were among those killed in the attack. Here are some of their stories.

Kareem Bawadi, 18

The college freshman had just wrapped up his first semester at the University of Alabama after graduating in 2024 from the private Episcopal School of Baton Rouge, his family confirmed to WAFB.

The Episcopal School announced an evening prayer service for Bawadi and fellow alum Parker Vidrine, who was critically wounded in the attack, and said counselors and chaplains would also be at the ready.

Tiger Bech, 27

The Lafayette, La., native was working at private investment bank Seaport Global as a junior trader, having graduated from Princeton in 2021. He died of internal injuries and head trauma hours after the attack, Kim Broussard, the athletic director of St. Thomas More Catholic High School, told KLFY.

Bech was the older brother of former Texas Christian University receiver Jack Bech. Tiger Bech had been a receiver and kick returner at Princeton from 2017 to 2019, during which he caught 53 passes for 825 yards with three touchdowns, according to ESPN.

Drew Dauphin, 26

The Auburn University graduate worked as a supplier process engineer for American Honda Motor Company Inc. since graduating in 2023, The Birmingham News reported. He left a bereaved family “numb and in shock,” they told the New Orleans Times-Picayune.

Nikyra Dedeaux, 18

The aspiring nurse from Gulfport, Miss., was the first victim identified in the attacks. She’d gone out to celebrate the new year with friends unbeknownst to her family, who only learned she was there after realizing she’d been killed, her grandmother, Jennifer Smith, told The New York Times.

Dedeaux had been about to start studying nursing at Blue Cliff College later this month, following in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother, also both nurses. Her friend Zion Parsons, who witnessed the attack, described seeing his friend flung “at least 30 feet” by the impact.

Billy DiMaio, 25

DiMaio grew up on Long Island and later moved to New Jersey, where he graduated from Holmdel High School. He attended Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, earning a master’s degree in business leadership, his family told the Asbury Park Press.

DiMaio worked in the Manhattan offices of Audacy, which issued a statement “fondly” remembering him for “his unwavering work ethic, positive attitude, and kindness,” the company told WVUE.

Hubert Gauthreaux, 21

The New Orleans area native graduated from Archbishop Shaw High School in 2021. The school launched a GoFundMe campaign for its former student, remembering him as a bright and promising young man.

Reggie Hunter, 37

Hunter, the father of 12-year-old and 18-month-old sons, had come to town from Baton Rouge on a whim to spend time with his cousin, who was also wounded in the attack, another cousin told the Times-Picayune.

“They were both hit by the truck, and Hunter was trampled as well,” his family said in a GoFundMe drive seeking funeral funds.

Nicole Perez, 27

The doting single mother to a 4-year-old son loved her new job as a manager of the deli she’d worked at before being promoted, her boss Kimberly Usher told the Times-Picayune.

Usher started a GoFundMe for her “beautiful” friend and employee, seeking funds for burial expenses and to help Perez’s son “transition into a new living situation.”

Matthew Tenedorio, 25

The Long Island native “was 25 years old, just starting life, had the job of his dreams,” his mother, Cathy Tenedorio, told NBC News in a tearful interview. He worked as a fiber optics and video professional at the Superdome and Smoothie King Center.

A GoFundMe sought burial funds for the “beloved son, brother, uncle, and friend whose laid-back spirit and infectious laughter brought joy to everyone around him.” They noted the family was already burdened with medical debt stemming from his mother’s cancer treatment.

Family had been together at another son’s home for New Year’s Eve dinner, Cathy said. She added she’d been uneasy about Matthew going to Bourbon Street for celebrations, but “all I did was just hug him and tell him, ‘I love you. Happy New Year. Please text me when you get home,’” she told ABC News. “That text never came.”

With News Wire Services